270px, Fugendake Pyroplastic flow area 270px, Obama Onsen is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

located in

Nagasaki Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan, mainly located on the island of Kyūshū, although it also includes a number of islands off Kyūshū's northwest coast - including Tsushima and Iki. Nagasaki Prefecture has a population of 1,246,4 ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. , the city had an estimated

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

of 40,831 in 17709 households, and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

of 190 people per km². The total area of the town is .

Geography

Unzen is located on the northern tip of

Shimabara Peninsula The is a peninsula located in Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. The peninsula incorporates the cities of Shimabara, Minamishimabara, and Unzen. The northern, eastern, and southeastern coasts of the peninsula face the Ariake ...

, facing

Ariake Bay The is a body of salt water surrounded by Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki, and Kumamoto Prefectures, all of which lie on the island of Kyūshū in Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coas ...

in the east and

Mount Unzen is an active volcanic group of several overlapping stratovolcanoes, near the city of Shimabara, Nagasaki on the island of Kyushu, Japan's southernmost main island. In 1792, the collapse of one of its several lava domes triggered a megatsuna ...

to the south. Parts of the city are within the borders of the

Unzen-Amakusa National Park is a national park in Nagasaki, Kumamoto, and Kagoshima Prefectures, Japan. Established in 1934, the park derives its name from Mount Unzen, an active volcano at the middle of the Shimabara Peninsula, and the Amakusa islands in the Yatsushiro ...

Neighbouring municipalities

Nagasaki , officially , is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Founded by the Portuguese, the port of Portuguese_Nagasaki, Nagasaki became the sole Nanban trade, port used for tr ...

Isahaya is a city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. As of June 1, 2024, the city had an estimated population of 131,467 in 55169 households, and a population density of 380 people per km2. The total area of the city is Geography Located in the ...

Minamishimabara 270px, Ruins of Hara Castle is a city in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 41,028 in 18378 households, and a population density of 240 people per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Minamishimabar ...

* Shimabara

Climate

Unzen has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Unzen is 16,6 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2115 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 27.0 °C, and lowest in January, at around 6.7 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Unzen is as shown below:

History

The area of Unzen was part of ancient

Hizen Province was an old provinces of Japan, old province of Japan in the area of the Saga Prefecture, Saga and Nagasaki Prefecture, Nagasaki prefectures. It was sometimes called , with Higo Province. Hizen bordered on the provinces of Chikuzen Province, Ch ...

. During the

Edo Period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

, the area was mostly under the control of

Shimabara Domain was a Japanese domain of the Edo period. Originally known as Hinoe Domain, its administrative center was initially established at Hinoe Castle in Minamishimabara, Nagasaki Prefecture. However, it was later relocated to Shimabara Castle ...

. After the

Meiji restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

, the villages of Tabira, Doguro, Jindai, Furube, Ifuku, Saigo, Moriyama, Yamada Aino, Chijiwa, Obama, Kuchiyama and Minamikushiyama were established in Minamitakaki District, Nagasaki with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. *April 1, 1924 Obama Village → Obama Town *July 1, 1926 Ifuku and Taisho merged to form Furube Village *November 1, 1928 Chijiwa Village → Chijiwa Town *February 11, 1937 Tabira Village → Tabira Town *August 1, 1949 Aino Village → Aino Town *April 1, 1954 Moriyama and Yamada merged to form Agatsuma Village *February 1, 1955 Obama and Kitakushiyama villages merged to form Obama Town *September 1, 1956 Tabira and Doguro villages merged to form Kunimi Town *September 25, 1956 Taisho and Saigo village merged to form Mizuho Village *March 22, 1957 Jindai Village was raised to town status, becoming Kunimi Town *April 1, 1963 Agatsuma Village → Agatsuma Town *April 1, 1969 Mizuho Village → Mizuho Town, Minamikushiyama Village → Minamikushiyama Town The city of Unzen was established on October 11, 2005, from the merger of the towns of Aino, Azuma, Chijiwa, Kunimi, Minamikushiyama,

Mizuho Mizuho () literally means "abundant rice" in Japanese and "harvest" in the figurative sense. It was also an Names of Japan#Other names, ancient name of Japan. It might refer to: Places * Mizuho, Gifu, a city in Gifu * Mizuho, Tokyo, a town in To ...

and

Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. Ob ...

(all from Minamitakaki District).

Government

Unzen has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...

town council of 19 members. Unzen contributes two members to the Nagasaki Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of the

Nagasaki 2nd district Nagasaki 2nd district is a constituency of the House of Representatives of Japan, House of Representatives in the Diet of Japan located in Nagasaki prefecture. The district covers a southern part of the prefecture as well as a few outlying island ...

of the

lower house A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...

of the

Diet of Japan , transcription_name = ''Kokkai'' , legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet , coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg , house_type = Bicameral , houses = , foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...

Economy

Unzen has a mixed economy of agriculture, commercial fishing, and tourism to its many hot spring resorts.

Education

Unzen has 17 public elementary schools and seven public junior high schools by the city government, and two public high schools operated by the Nagasaki Prefectural Board of Education.

Transportation

Railways

Shimabara Railway ( for short) is a third-sector railway company in Nagasaki, Japan. Shimabara Railway also operates buses, taxis and passenger ferries; as well as other non-transport ventures. Nagasaki Prefecture and Cities in Shimabara area came to hold stock ...

Shimabara Railway Line The is a Japanese railway line connecting Isahaya Station, Isahaya and Shimabarakō. The line parallels the coast of Shimabara Peninsula, Nagasaki Prefecture. The third-sector railway company Shimabara Railway owns the line and also operate ...

* - - - - - - -

Highways

* * *

Local attractions

* *

Obama Onsen is an onsen (hot spring resort) in Obama, Unzen, Nagasaki, Unzen, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. The hot springs system is located in the foothills of Mount Unzen Volcano. In Japanese, the word, "obama" means "little beach" or "little island". Al ...

is located in Unzen City. The poet Saito Mokichi wrote a verse about the beauty of this hot spring. * Unzen Onsen

Festivals

Tachibana Park in Chijiwa hosts the Kanoukaen first festival on the final Saturday of March.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Cities in Nagasaki Prefecture Populated coastal places in Japan Unzen, Nagasaki